Microsoft technology to usher in new era for 2016 Iowa caucuses

The Iowa caucuses provide a unique forum for civic engagement.

Every four years, Iowa commands the national spotlight. As the first official contest in the nominating process for president of the United States, candidates from both political parties and the citizens of the State of Iowa take the process seriously.

At Microsoft, we understand that technology can empower people and organizations to discover creative ways to address enduring problems and opportunities. That is why we are honored to support the 2016 Iowa caucus via a new, mobile-enabled, cloud-based platform that will facilitate accuracy and efficiency of the reporting process.

Built on Microsoft technology, the new platform will feature a secure system, which will enable precincts to report their results directly by party and will ensure that only authorized Iowans are reporting results. This announcement represents the first-of-its-kind major technology component to caucus reporting.

Under the new system, each Iowa political party will have their own app available on all mobile and PC platforms, which will support the party’s unique caucus voting process. The reporting apps may be used in every precinct in Iowa by both parties. The results will be securely stored and managed in Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform.

It is important that Iowans, candidates and others have reliable, timely access to Iowa caucus results. Microsoft is honored to partner with Iowa’s political parties to create technology solutions that will improve the caucus experience.

Our Technology and Civic Engagement Group at Microsoft focuses on bringing our best people and resources to help civic leaders – and the communities they serve – to solve their biggest challenges. Facilitating sustained partnerships across organizations is necessary to coalesce an understanding of community priorities, the policy environment, and technological innovation.

We look forward to working with the citizens and political parties in the state of Iowa and applying Microsoft expertise in technology, data, and business intelligence to help make the caucus reporting efficient, accurate, and secure.

For more on the Iowa caucus 2016 announcement, see press releases from the Republican Party of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party.

View the press conference here (live from Des Moines on Friday, June 5 at 1:30 pm PT).

https://youtu.be/0_oMVkSfFsw

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